Thinking Things Through
by MM995
Summary: Ash wasn't moving forward as a Pokemon Trainer, his heart and guts having gotten him as far as they could. Drake of the Hoenn Elite Four saw it when they battled on his ship and decided to do something about it. Gifted with a new Pokemon, armed with a stronger mindset, it might have just been the very thing Ash needed to take another step forward into becoming a Pokemon Master.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all! My second (or third, depending on perspective) Pokemon story. Hope you like it.**

 **As for LATEOTT, not to worry; I'm not gonna stop updating. I got this idea for a fic and I decided to write it down before it disappears from my head.**

 **I don't own Pokemon**

* * *

Ash watched, helpless, as his Grovyle was blasted back by a powerful Solar Beam attack, courtesy of Drake's Altaria. His Pokemon harshly struck the wall of the ship and slid down with swirls in his eyes.

"Grovyle is unable to battle! The winner is Altaria! Since Ash has used up both of his Pokemon, the winner of this match is Drake of the Elite Four!" Fitzwilliam, said Elite Four's first-mate, yelled.

Ash sighed as he recalled Grovyle back into his pokeball. He hadn't really expected to beat an Elite Four member, so he wasn't too disappointed. Granted, the somewhat bitter disenchantment over being so easily bested still lingered, even if it was at the hands of one of Hoenn's best.

It was humbling, maybe a touch _too_ humbling, to discover how utterly outclassed he was; how very far he still was from reaching his goal. And yet, not so long ago he had felt like he was on top of the world. He had definitely learned one lesson from this.

Crashing down was painful.

"Sonny."

Startled, he looked up at Drake, who was giving him a considering look. He met his gaze as firmly as the lingering disappointment allowed him to, his pride wounded but by no means destroyed. After what seemed an eternity, but was actually just a few seconds, the older man smirked.

"Why don't we take a walk to my cabin and have a chat? There is something I'd like to tell you," Drake said before walking towards the aftercastle. Ash soon followed, both curious and confused.

The rest of the group, consisting of Brock, May (who was holding the still injured and fatigued Pikachu) and Max, made to follow as well. However, they stopped when Drake raised his hand in an obvious 'stop' gesture.

"This is a conversation I'd rather have between solely me and Ash. Please wait here; Fitzwilliam and the crew will attend to your needs."

The raven-haired Trainer gave the veteran a surprised look "Why do they have to wait outside? You can tell them anything you can tell me."

He shook his head "If you want to tell them after our discussion, you can. Until then, I'd prefer you listen to what I have to say without any outside interruptions. What I'm about to tell you, you'll need to consider and process on your own, initially at least."

Ash was about to insist again, but Brock beat him to the punch "It's okay, Ash. We'll wait here for you two to finish."

Though he at least wanted to take Pikachu with him, he knew what his starter needed most was some medical attention. The boy looked at his friends' reassuring gazes, though Max's also had a bit of a pout to it, and he nodded before stepping through the cabin door and into Drake's quarters. After a quick look around, he could honestly say he liked it. It was comfortable and practical in its simplicity with just a smidge of lavishness to show that it belonged to the captain of the ship.

"Please take a seat." The ship captain pulled out a chair that was next to a moderately large, round table before sitting at the opposite end.

"So... what is this about?" Ash asked when he sat down.

Drake cleared his throat, as if getting ready to give a long-winding speech "Well, first I want to ask you if you've understood the lesson I've been trying to teach you?"

The young Trainer gave a solemn nod "Yeah, all the matches I've won recently got into my head and I got too cocky. I lost focus because of that."

"Correct. There was a time when I consecutively lost several battles before I realized that my arrogance was the main reason I started losing. However, it's not just that."

Ash gave him a weird look, prompting Drake to clarify "Well, it's a big part of it, of course, but it's not just arrogance that's the problem. Do you remember what I said during our battle?"

The boy recalled their fight and quickly remembering the man's words "A battle is no place for idle thoughts. All focus must be on the fight."

Drake nodded while pouring some sort of medium-brown drink into a glass. When he noticed his guest's gaze, he lifted the unlabeled bottle with a smile "Peach ice tea; very refreshing during the hot seasons, which is most of the year down here in Hoenn." He took out another glass from the cupboard next to him "Want some?"

Only just realizing how parched the battle under the hot Sun had left him, Ash nodded with a grateful grin. After the guest was poured his glass, the two simultaneously gulped down the cool beverage. The young Trainer sighed in relief, to which Drake chuckled in good-nature.

"You've got a lot of heart, sonny. A couple of... _mutual friends_ saw it fit to inform me about you," the Elite Four member said, causing Ash to go wide-eyed.

"Mutual friends? Who?" he asked, bewildered to find out that some people actually talked about him with the veteran Trainer.

Drake gave him a... smile? Grin? Smirk? It was an upward turn of the lips that was really hard to decipher for the thirteen year-old boy.

"Both their reputation and my trust in them deigned me to watch footages of your battles in the previous conferences, including the Orange League. Like I said, you've got a lot of heart. Guts too. They allowed you to get impressively far in your journey," Drake revealed, pouring himself another glass of ice tea.

Ignoring his lack of answer, Ash grinned shyly at his praise, truly honored to hear how highly Hoenn's most powerful Elite Four member (according to Max) thought of his accomplishments. It also helped ease the sting of his earlier loss.

Taking a sip from his glass, the man then said "And that's about as far as you'll get."

The raven-haired Trainer nearly dropped his glass. You could hear a pin drop as he stared at Drake in pure shock.

"W-What?"

"To be more accurate, at your current pace with your current approach, you might as well kiss your dreams of being a Pokemon Master goodbye," he said casually, as if talking about the weather.

Still utterly flabbergasted (who wouldn't be?), Ash shakily spoke up "W-What do you mean 'kiss my dreams of being a Pokemon Master goodbye'? What the hell are you talking about?"

The ship captain sighed "What I mean is, as I've already mentioned, you've got a lot of heart and guts _and_ you are able to utilize them to your benefit, both in battle and bonding."

"Then I don't get what's the problem?" Ash narrowed his eyes, the shock steadily turning into annoyance and anger.

"It's that you don't realize that those things can only take you so far. You're failing to effectively use the one thing you have which is vital for a Pokemon Trainer." He reached across the table with his right hand and poked the teenager on the forehead with an index finger "This."

Ash lightly rubbed the spot on his brow and gave Drake an annoyed glare "So the problem is I'm stupid? Thanks a lot."

The man bellowed out a laugh "It's a tad more complicated than that. You have a good head on your shoulders, lad. The stupid part would be that you don't make use of it as often as you could and should."

"Yeah, well, thanks for the advice, but I don't need your approval to become a Pokemon Master," Ash said a bit more harshly than intended, but he couldn't find it within himself to care. Drake had really pushed his buttons; this was _not_ what the raven-haired Trainer had expected when he had invited him to his cabin.

"And that's something that I like about you, Ash. Even if _I_ was to tell you that you'd never become a Pokemon Master, you wouldn't give two shits about what I'd say." The Elite Four member grinned? Smirked? Ah, who cares? He was getting of track.

"But you did!" Man, it was like the guy was actively trying - and succeeding - to confuse him with all the mixed signals.

"No, I said you'll never fulfill your goal the way you're going about it right now. Pay more attention, lad." He took a sip of his drink before continuing "Besides, I'm still a veteran Trainer and an Elite Four member. You may not need my or anybody else's approval, but you'd be a fool to ignore my advice, or the advice of any Trainer more experienced than yourself for that matter."

Ash grumbled crabbily and looked away in response.

"Disregarding advice just because the truth behind it is brutally unpleasant is for children and the small-minded. You are neither," Drake declared seriously, his stony gaze resting on the boy in front of him.

The teenager shifted uncomfortably, not knowing how else to accept the simultaneous praise and criticism "Thanks, I guess. I still don't get why you're telling me all this."

The man's eyes softened a bit "Remember those mutual friends I said about?" Ash nodded "They were Prof. Oak, his grandson Gary Oak and Lance."

For the umpteenth time that day, Ash felt the world momentarily crawl down to a halt. _T_ _hose_ were the people that had spoken to Drake about him? However, after letting his mind process the information, Prof. Oak and Drake did appear to be around the same age and it was quite possible that they were friends, so that wasn't too surprising. There also weren't many, if any, people who knew him as well as the researcher.

Gary Oak had very likely become acquaintances with the Elite Four member through his grandfather, although he had implied that Gary and him had spoken to each other on a separate occasion. His old rival also knew him quite well, so that wasn't really a stretch either.

But Lance of all people? The Kanto/Johto Champion? The greatest Dragon-type Master in the world?

"Why Lance, you say?" Drake smirked. Ops! He must have accidentally said it loud. "Well, he was quite impressed with your courage in the Red Gyarados incident and, later, your performance in the Silver Conference. Since we're one of the few rare Dragon Masters, we often talk and share information, like new Trainers that left an impression on us."

The older man then coughed twice "In any case, we digress. Their words prompted me to view several videos of your official battles. Lance mostly mentioned you in passing; it was the two Oaks that gave me a more... _extensive_ load of info on you."

Ash blinked, staying silent for a few moments before saying "So, what did they say?"

Drake chuckled "We'll get to that. The good Professor had asked a favor of me. With his grandson's new future as a Pokemon Researcher, he asked me to come to Pallet Town and bring Gary here to Hoenn."

The young Trainer perked up at that "He's here?" He hadn't seen his ex-rival for a while now and it would be interesting to talk to him again.

His spirits were deflated when the man shook his head "No, I dropped him off at the coast north of Rustboro City. At the moment, he's researching Fossil Pokemon that used to live at the coastlines and in the sea. The Lileep, Anorith and their evolved forms are being re-integrated to what used to be their natural environment in the ancient times, so it's the perfect opportunity for him."

Ash grinned in excitement "Wow, that's cool."

"Quite. If I understood correctly, you and him had spoken via videophone once in the last week."

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Ash nodded, having almost forgotten about that. After winning his seventh badge, he had been so pumped and had called his mother back home. Coincidentally, Gary had been there as well. His peer had said that his research had 'brought him back home' so to speak and was actually leaving the very next morning back to Hoenn.

They hadn't talked long, just catching up and exchanging some experiences from their travels. That must've been the day before Drake's ship docked into the Pallet Town port. Or maybe the ship had already arrived and he and his crew had spent the night there.

"He had noticed in the way you spoke that you were becoming presumptuous. However, it wasn't something he could scold you about over the phone and he didn't want to ruin your mood, well-earned as it was. It was bothering him I suppose, considering that he couldn't help but praise and criticize you at the same time," Drake commented with a small smile.

The raven-haired Trainer pouted, feeling almost betrayed by the brunette researcher.

The Elite Four member chuckled at his expression "He told me a lot about your Pokemon, your battling style and yourself. With Samuel pretty much saying the same thing and seeing the footages of your battle, I can say I got a good read on your training and battling style. It wasn't hard to miss what you lacked that would get you to the top as you so desire."

Ash just gave him a look that clearly stated for him to clarify.

"Let me ask you? How many times did you teach your Pokemon new moves?" Drake asked.

The teenager pondered his question before answering "Twice. I taught Pikachu Iron Tail and I taught Swellow Aerial Ace."

"Really? That 's pathetic."

Ash's eyes widened again in shock "E-Excuse me?"

The older man leaned his head against his hand "In three years of training, that is incredibly low. There's a good reason Trainers teach their Pokemon new moves, especially those not the same type as the Pokemon themselves. Do you know why?"

Ash shook his head, still reeling from the shock.

"Because they think ahead. To gain an advantage over other Pokemon in battle, because they know that winging it and just going gung-ho won't ever get them anywhere. For example, Gary taught his Squirtle to use Rapid Spin so well, the rotation caused a friction in the air that deflected Electric-type attacks _and_ he did it for this very purpose in mind. It was no accident on his or his Pokemon's part."

Drake took another sip "Another question. How often do you train your Pokemon?"

This time, Ash scowled "All the time. What kind of Trainer would I be if I didn't?" Seriously, he was starting to realize some of his shortcomings, but this was really offensive.

"I mean outside of battling and sparring. Do you have a training regimen for your Pokemon?"

The young Trainer blinked in confusion "Um, training regimen?"

The ship captain sighed "Lad, even experience can only take you so far. Let's say your Heracross. The Sinnoh region's Elite Four Aaron also has one. Even if luck, instincts and the 'determination from the heart of your friendship' brought your Heracross' full power to the forefront, it still wouldn't match up to even a half-hearted exertion from Aaron's."

After downing the final few drops of ice tea, he went on "The point is it wouldn't be solely because his went through more battles than yours. It would be because Aaron put it through intense training outside of battles. The power of its attacks, its physical skills like strength, speed, reflexes and so on."

He lifted both of his hands palms up, as if holding an object in each and trying to weigh their worth "Training increases the amount of power a Pokemon has, experience increases its efficiency in battle. They have their own, autonomous worth while, at the same time, their value is dependent on the other."

Drake crossed his arms and let Ash stew on his words. God knows he needed it after the rather long lecture and he wasn't even done yet. The boy was clenching and unclenching his hands, obviously going through a bit of inner turmoil. Despite his apparently gruff demeanor and image, Drake was a patient man and he could wait for the lad to think things through and speak first.

Ash's mind was a maelstrom of thought and emotions. You could say anything you want about his density, but you could never accuse him of not being quick thinking. It granted him many a victory in Pokemon battles during the course of his journey. It allowed him to scrape up a win whenever he was pushed into a corner.

And that was the problem.

He had rarely ever actually controlled the pace of a battle. It was usually when he was close to losing that his brain went into overdrive and conjured up a desperate, unorthodox tactic that saved his ass and even that wasn't always a success. He realized that, as he faced stronger and stronger opponents, that method wasn't going to cut it anymore.

He remembered that girl he fought in the Silver Conference, the one who liked using Fire-types and an Electabuzz. Even though he had used Water-type Pokemon and his Phanphy, she had almost beaten him because she had controlled the pace of the fight. Knowing her Pokemon's weaknesses, she had prepared not only by using an Electric-type, but had come up with strategies that allowed her to even the grounds and dominate Ground and Water Pokemon.

The only thing that had saved him was the type advantage. The girl had been far craftier and better prepared than him. In many ways, she had been more deserving of victory than him.

It all came down to one conclusion; Ash was ignorant.

It wasn't something to be proud of.

He took off his hat to run his hand through his hair while exhaling in frustration and self-depreciation, realizing how right Drake (and Gary) was.

"Why you?" he asked.

Though vague, the Elite Four member understood what the raven-haired teenager was asking. Why was he the one doing this? Lecturing him? Caring so much about... _all this_? Drake smirked knowingly.

"Being pretty much an outsider, my opinion is more objective than those of your friends. It might be hard for someone as emotional as you to understand, but wisdom is best served dispassionately."

Ash gave him a confused frown, causing him to better explain "Passion is neither necessarily good or bad, but it often hinders sound judgement. The warmer side of things isn't necessarily better than the colder one. For example, it might've been better for you to spend a bit of time brooding after a loss to analyze the battle and see what went wrong and what you could've done better instead of _immediately_ bouncing back."

After thinking about it, he determined that Drake was right, _again._ The lessons he learned from his losses were mostly temporary things, quickly forgotten in his boundless excitement and his... tunnel vision. Gary had once used that word to describe him and he hadn't worded it as a compliment. He chuckled unintentionally.

The man in front of him raised an eyebrow, to which Ash just chuckled somewhat ruefully again "It's just something I remembered. Gary had once insulted me by saying I have tunnel vision."

The ship captain nodded "As a Pokemon Trainer, having tunnel vision isn't a good thing. You need to pay attention to more than just your goal. Anyway, the lack of an actual training schedule is also preventing many of your Pokemon from evolving."

The young Trainer face adopted an expression of rage the moment he uttered those words "I will not make my Pokemon evolve if they don't want to! I allow them to choose whether they'll evolve! I-"

"-don't neglect your Pokemon's feelings and wishes, which is good," Drake cut in."However, how do you know which of your Pokemon want to evolve and which don't?"

Ash thought about how to phrase his answer "Well, I, uh... Pikachu didn't, neither did Bulbasaur and Squirtle and-"

"Yes, I'm aware that you've had a rather unusual experience regarding evolution with several of your first Pokemon. Those three did not want to evolve, while Charmander stopped listening to you after he did. Plus, I can bet that you've met some people who insisted that evolution was the only way for a Pokemon to become strong. All these experiences have lead you to have a tad negative opinion on it."

Ash scoffed "That's ridiculous! I'm always happy when my Pokemon evolve. I have _never_ hesitated to show how proud I am of them!"

"But you've haven't considered that perhaps they wanted to either; that it might have been the very reason that they joined you. The only thing that those Trainers you encountered were wrong about is that it's not the _only way_ for a Pokemon to become stronger, sonny, but it is a way nonetheless. Most Pokemon see evolution as a natural part of growth and a way of attaining more power, thus they look forward to it," Drake elaborated.

He pulled out a pokeball "For instance, my Shelgon you fought. Did you know that he's only nine months old?"

Ash stood up, staring gobsmacked at him "Nine _months_?!" That... baby was the Pokemon who took his oldest Pokemon's attacks like nothing and finished him off with only two of its own?

The older man nodded "Dragons are difficult to train and they take longer to evolve than most. However, I knew that Bagon wanted to evolve as soon as possible, so I trained with him, hard. He evolved after only six months. A few more and he will become a Salamence. Most, if not all, of your Pokemon have evolved through need, not by reaching the necessary level through practice."

The teenager sat down heavily, a downtrodden visage on his face. The reason why Drake was going through this lecture with him getting more and more clear. A Pokemon much younger than his own, yet much stronger because of more extensive training and an actual strategy from its Trainer.

"So I _have_ been neglecting my Pokemon." It was hard to admit when all along he thought he was the exact opposite. How many of his Pokemon wanted to evolve, but he hadn't been providing them the means for it as a good Trainer should. All because, as Drake said, of rather unusual experiences at the beginning of his journey.

Drake made a wishy-washy motion with his hand "Samuel and Gary assured me that your Pokemon are happy being a part of your team, but yeah. In a certain way, you have been. On that note, you should probably call Samuel and ask him to extend the capacity of Pokemon you may carry on your person. I'm sure he'll be more than glad to do it."

"I cab do that?" Ash asked with wide eyes.

"Uh-huh. I know you wanted to start this journey with only your Pikachu 'cus you wanted it to be like the first time." He chuckled while shaking his head in disappointment "My sincere advice is don't."

The raven-haired teen sighed "It's not just that. I needed the space for all the new Pokemon I caught in Hoenn."

"Which is why I recommend you to call the good Professor and ask him to increase the capacity, so you can bring some of your older Pokemon with you. To not neglect the other ones, you can always rotate your Pokemon whenever you're in a Pokemon Center, not to mention a number of other facilities," Drake said.

Ash fidgeted in his seat before looking down at his hands on the table. He had brought only Pikachu with him because he wanted to feel the thrill he had felt when he had started his Pokemon training trip. He didn't want to repeat that to the man because he was afraid he would find another reason to criticize him, to call him stupid.

He didn't have to bother, since Drake started guffawing "Ah, you over-emotional, idealistic types are all the same. More concerned that the things you do have a symbolic meaning than practical use."

Ash flushed at his words while the man slowly calmed down. Getting his chuckles under control, he did his best to adopt a serious expression "If you're going to be selfish, try to be a little less childish about it. I think you can spare the symbolism for the sake of your Pokemon's feelings and desires. You want them to be Pokemon worthy of a champion, then they need constant training and battling, not just a few battles every year or two."

Noticing the lad's embarrassed and forlorn expression, his own softened a bit and he sighed "You have more potential than most is why I'm telling you this, sonny. You _do_ have an impressive brain in that noggin of yours. I've seen that. Do you want to know what I believe is your best performance?"

Still downtrodden, but feeling slightly better, Ash shook his head.

"Granted, I could only see the official ones I had access to, but I believe it was when you used your Bayleef against Harrison's Houndoom."

In all honesty, the teenager was only slightly surprised. It was a battle he was particularly proud of himself. Beating an older Trainer's Fire-type with a Grass-type was no small thing. To top it off, Bayleef had come out of it unscathed.

"You had used a combination of heart, guts _and_ brains that gave you a victory that shouldn't have been as easy as it was. _That's_ how you should be in a battle; focused, undeterred and undistracted," Drake said, almost fervent.

Ash grinned proudly, for once feeling good about himself during the length of their conversation.

"Wipe that grin." Which he promptly did "I want to you to actually brood about what I said today. Enthusiasm and determination are all good, but they're a hindrance without focus and guidance. Can you promise me that? Can you promise me that you won't forget what we talked about today?"

Feeling unusually determined (at least for today), Ash straightened up "Sir, yes, sir!"

And he wasn't going to forget, not after having the privilege of being at the end of an invaluable - and painful - lecture from one of the Hoenn's Elite Four. He learned far too much on this day to forget.

Drake chuckled before giving his most heartfelt smile of the day, which looked more like a regular smile "Then I'm not worried at all about giving you this."

He reached for his belt and took a single shrunken pokeball before enlarging it and presenting it to the stunned Pokemon Trainer. He pointed to himself, to which the older man nodded and took the pokeball into his hand. He seemed to stare at it in wonder before finally releasing its occupant.

What came out was a small Pokemon that was mostly light blue in color with three gray ridges on its head that looked like a helmet. Its lower jaw, ears and underpart were yellow in color with short stubby arms and legs. Ash recognized the Pokemon immediately.

"Bagon," he said in amazement.

"Yes, a young one as well. He's just about ready to fight. If you have a free spot on your team, I can transfer the ownership to you immediately." Drake took out his Pokedex, but Ash grabbed his hand before he could type anything.

"Stop, please. Let me talk to it first."

The Elite Four member's eyebrows were raised in mild astonishment. He soon chuckled, knowing he should have expected something like this and gestured towards Bagon. Ash knelt before the tiny dragon.

"Hey, I'm Ash. I'm a Pokemon Trainer and I want to be the best there is. Drake here has decided to entrust you with me, but I wanted to Ask you first. Do you want to come with me? There'll be a lot of battles and intense training and I promise to take care of you," he said earnestly, putting both his hands forwards palms up.

Bagon blinked at him before looking at Drake, who nodded with a small smile. The dragon gave a happy squeal and put his own, digitless hands into Ash's. The teen grinned in joy and, instead of recalling him to his pokeball, scooped him up and put him on his right shoulder. The Rock Head Pokemon held onto his head with his stubby arms, looking quite comfortable.

Ash turned to Drake "Thank you so much!"

"Consider him an incentive... and a reminder," he responded with a smirk and started typing into his Pokedex. When the teen accepted the transferal of ownership on his Pokedex, the older man spoke up "Now let's go outside and rejoin your friends. You can tell me how you plan to go about things later, after you've been given some time to think about it."

Ash nodded and stepped outside with Drake in tow, his new Pokemon riding on his shoulder.

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 **There you go! What do you think?**

 **I know I've made Ash seem a bit stupid in this chapter, but it _was_ a lecture. The one at the end of it always looks like an idiot.**

 **This was a dialogue only chapter, as planned, so I'm sorry if it was a bit on the boring side. I really feel that Ash would have needed this at that period of time.**

 **Until next time, folks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, everybody. Here's the second chapter.**

 **Spoiler alert: no real action in this chapter. Just a lot of introspection and dialogue. Hope it doesn't dissuade you from following this story.**

 **I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

Later that evening, Ash was in deep thought as he stewed on Drake's words. He had taken the man's advice and brooded, maybe deeper than ever in his life before.

He was laying on one of the beds in the room on Drake's galleon which the ship's captain had provided for him and his friends for the night. He was alone at the moment except for Pikachu and Bagon, who were resting. The medic on board had said that the Mouse Pokemon was perfectly fine and just needed a good night's sleep. Ash was glad, for both his Pokemon and the quiet that his mandatory rest gave him.

It was uncharacteristic of him, even the usually boisterous Trainer noticed that. Normally, just the mention of a battle or anything else that sounded remotely interesting was enough to incite an enthusiastic cry out of his mouth and spur him into an excited run. He liked the rush of the wind against his skin and the deafening sounds of a Pokemon battle. Tonight, however, the reigning silence allowed him to introspect and _truly_ evaluate himself as a Pokemon Trainer for perhaps the first time on his journey.

Drake had been right, of course, now that Ash took a more objective view on himself. Too often did he rush into a situation blindly, believing that everything would work itself out. Well, that wasn't completely true; he always considered the possibility of losing when entering a battle, but he fought to win every time. That's a part of him that he couldn't feel bad about.

What he _was_ more critical about was that, so far, he had relied a bit too much on luck and the determination he and his Pokemon shared. There was rarely any strategy or forethought, just your regular kick-the-door-down-and-enter-guns-a-blazing approach. Brute strength with barely any control and direction.

Great, now he felt like a hypocrite for calling out on all those pompous Trainer's who bragged about the value of power above all else.

Leaving behind all his Pokemon for the sole purpose of wanting to relive the feeling of the first time he went on his journey made him feel a bit bad. Ash was comforted by the fact that he hadn't been aware that he could increase the Pokemon carrying capacity, needing the space for the newly caught Hoenn Pokemon. Nevertheless, it didn't change that it wasn't the main reason for it.

Ignoring their training didn't help his spirits though. All of them could have been so much stronger by now and it was his fault they weren't. It was his fault that many of them couldn't yet evolve.

If Drake had never spoken to him earlier that day, where his Pokemon would have needed to wait for a perilous or emotionally stressful situation to force the evolution out of them... and had such a scenario never come, it would've been his fault then too.

A knock on the door brought him out of his musings. He looked towards the door and saw the rest of his gang enter the room.

"Hey, Ash. Everything okay? It's unusual of you to leave dinner so soon," Brock inquired gently.

"I'm okay. Just needed to think a little," Ash responded.

Max scoffed lightly "That's a first."

A pillow to the face was his answer.

"Very funny, but really, I'm fine."

May sat down on one of the unoccupied beds "We believe you, it's just not common for you to be so... broody. Is it something you and Drake talked about?"

The raven-haired teen didn't answer her at first, staring up at the ceiling lost in thought. He then shifted his gaze to Brock.

"Hey, Brock."

"Yeah?"

Ash hesitated for a moment before continuing "Is there a downside to Pokemon evolving out of need or when emotionally stressed?"

The oldest of the group's first instinct was to ask why, but Ash seemed uncharacteristically contemplative and his question carried a seriousness that prompted him to just answer his question "There _are_ downsides. Evolution builds up on the skills that a Pokemon already has. If it happens out of necessity, it could happen before they are truly ready and leave some of their skills underdeveloped."

While May and Max looked confused, his young friend furrowed his brow "Is that something like Lt. Surge's Raichu? When he made his Pikachu evolve before it learned Quick Attack and Agility so Raichu was a lot slower than Pikachu?"

"Close enough. There are many skills that Pokemon need to develop or learn in their pre-evolved forms that they can't in their other stages, or at least not as easily," Brock said, slightly surprised by Ash's analogy.

"What brought this on, Ash?" May asked, a confused frown on her face.

The teen bit his lip before relenting and telling them about his conversation with Drake. It was true that Drake's detached point of view allowed him to better lecture him as a Trainer, but Ash's close trust in his friends allowed him to talk with them about such sensitive topics with little to no worry.

The only girl of their group huffed in anger "That seems to be a bit presumptuous of him, doesn't it? What right does he have to criticize you so much when he doesn't even know you all that well?"

The young Trainer shrugged "Necessary evil maybe? He said it made him more objective than any of you would be."

Max shifted, an expression of slight discomfort on his face " Well, he _does_ have a point about that, even though none of us like it." Being a matter-of-fact kind of person himself, he found it hard to dispute the man's reasoning.

Brock was leaning against the room wall with his arms crossed and an expressionless look on his face. Out of all of them, Ash wanted to hear his opinion the most, for he was his oldest travelling companion among all of them. The fact that he was also undoubtedly the most mature and wise member of their group added to that.

"What do you think, Brock?" the raven-haired boy asked after a few moments of silence.

The older teen sighed and lowered his head while raising his right hand to rub the back of his neck, as if frustrated with indecision between two choices. He raised his head soon after.

"A part of me wants to say Drake's wrong, but he isn't. He is a veteran Trainer who gave you a thorough analysis of your strengths and faults with your best interest in heart. The fact that it was uncomfortable to hear doesn't necessarily make it wrong. No lecture truly is," he said confidently, having had to scold his own siblings on numerous occasions. "It's not something you can dismiss out of hand."

That pretty much sealed it for Ash. If the wise and nurturing Brock thought that Drake's words held merit, he didn't hesitate to take it for granted. Besides, he had already done his own evaluation and was quite confident with his next course of action.

"That settles it. Tomorrow, I'm calling Prof. Oak to increase the number of Pokemon I can carry," Ash declared firmly.

The aspiring Pokemon Breeder nodded while Max's eyes glinted in anticipation, always eager to see new Pokemon. May, resigned that her side of the argument regarding the Elite Four member flopped, just smiled indulgently.

"It _would_ be nice to meet some of your older Pokemon, especially since a lot of them might not be found in Hoenn," she said.

The teen nodded before suddenly yawning, which started a chain reaction, spurring the others to yawn as well. Ash chuckled, seating himself up and rubbing the back of his head.

"I guess we're all a little tired from everything today. Let's call it a night and sleep on it, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," drawled the youngest member of the group while rubbing one of his eyes.

After dressing themselves into their sleep attire, they all lay down on their respective beds and closed their eyes, one of them feeling especially lighter in spirits than before.

* * *

It was morning the next day and the group was ready to leave the ship.

"Now remember, all Pokemon Centers emit a special signal attuned to the Pokedex that Trainers carry. It turns off the carrying limit, enabling a Trainer to have a limitless number of Pokemon on his person in its vicinity. If you plan to gather all your Pokemon, that's the best place to do it," Drake instructed.

Ash nodded, his friends standing right behind him "Thanks. It's very convenient." He had already called Prof. Oak earlier, who had been all too glad to grant him his wish.

The ship captain smirked before speaking up again "Remember this more than anything. It takes this," He pointed at Ash's heart "This," He then pointed at the teen's stomach " _And_ this." He put his right index finger against his forehead and pushed lightly, causing Ash to glare at him half-heartedly. "They're _all_ a part of the equation. You neglect one and you get the wrong answer. Got it?"

"I'll keep it in mind. I promise not to let you down again," the teen responded almost passionately.

Drake shook his head "I'm a detached soul, remember?" He winked with a small but mirthful grin. "Besides, it was nothing more than a hiccup; hit the proverbial snag, so to speak. You just needed a push to get around it."

Ash nodded again and, with their goodbyes out of the way, disembarked Drake's ship along with the rest of the group. They waved as the ship, the aptly named Dragon's Lair, departed from the dock and headed to who knows where.

Brock looked at his younger companion with a small smile "You've changed, but you're still Ash."

He grinned back somewhat impishly "For the better, I hope. People change and I shouldn't be an exception. I can't be the same amateur brat I was when I started."

"And you're not. You weren't even before Drake spoke to you," the aspiring Pokemon Breeder said reassuringly. Pikachu, who was on Ash's shoulder, nodded in agreement and waved his arms around and cried in a harsh tone, as if scolding him. The electric mouse was miffed that he hadn't been with him when the arrogant Dragon Master had the audacity to chew out his Trainer.

Ash shrugged in response "The three years of experience helped, but I wasn't that different really... at least in mindset, you know. I was learning too little in too much time. In my own way, I thought my style was better than everybody else's and wasn't flexible enough to consider making changes."

Brock stayed silent this time, contemplating the teen's words. Throughout their time together, he had taught Ash many things, but it was always in short supply, usually something regarding a situation they were faced with at the time, like a battle or another special event. He had never truly given him a lecture like the Elite Four member did for several reasons.

One of those was that he was aspiring to be a Breeder while Ash a Pokemon Master, so he felt it inappropriate. Ash had also been (and was) young and Brock had figured that time and experience would teach him the needed lessons.

But perhaps, the main reason was because every time the younger teen gave a display of such staggering resolve and heart that he had become known for, it made him feel that Ash already had everything he needed and didn't _deserve_ to be lectured. He was half right. The teen _did_ have it all, he just didn't utilize it all to its fullest potential.

It was the exact point Drake had been trying to make yesterday. Ash could have all the heart and guts in the world; that didn't mean he couldn't have brains along with it too.

After all, discretion is the better part of valor; why have just courage or just brains, when one could have both. Posses the merits of both and let them cover each other's weak points.

Drake had realized that first-hand experience wasn't the best way for Ash to learn at this stage. The raven-haired Trainer was very good at proving others wrong and, being a tunnel visioned look-to-the-future kind of person, was prone to forgetting what he learned from the times he did lose. Ultimately, Brock deduced that Ash's analysis on himself was painfully spot on.

"So, what're you gonna do now?" Max asked.

"We're gonna go to the nearest Pokemon Center and I'll gather all of my Pokemon. There I'll decide how many and which Pokemon are gonna stay with me, for now," the Pallet Town native told them. Prof. Oak had increased his carrying limit to 13, confident enough that his three years as a Trainer and the fact that he wasn't travelling alone would allow him to take care of such a number of Pokemon.

"Pi, Pikachu!" his starter exclaimed joyfully, looking forward to seeing his friends.

"There's the one we were at yesterday and it's only a 10 minute walk from here," May supplied helpfully. She and her little brother were especially eager to see some foreign Pokemon. Who knew if a number of them had qualities that she'd like to add to her team?

Ash grinned "Then let's go!" he exclaimed and started practically brisk walking towards the medical facility, the rest of the group right behind him.

Fifteen minutes later, after the Professor had transferred him all of his Pokemon, the company stood outside in the Pokemon Center's field. The pokeballs containing Ash's Pokemon were placed on a cart on his right.

"Alright, everyone! Come on out!" the raven-haired teen yelled zealously, grabbing the first pokeball within his reach and releasing the Pokemon inside. Just as he was about bring out another one, he was promptly tackled to the ground by a very affectionate Grass-type.

"Bay, bay!"

Ash laughed "I'm happy to see you, too, Bayleef!" He hugged the evolved form of Chikorita around her long neck while she nuzzled the spot between his neck and left shoulder.

"Wow, that's a Bayleef! A Pokemon from the Johto region!" Max said excitedly as May pointed her Pokedex at said Pokemon.

 **Bayleef, the Leaf Pokemon and the evolved form of Chikorita. The curled up leaves around its neck release an aroma that acts as a stimulant to restore health. However, they can also exude a spicy fragrance that makes you want to fight.**

"Oh, it's so pretty! I wouldn't mind having one on my team," she said, gushing.

When Bayleef got off her Trainer, Pikachu approached her and greeted her enthusiastically, which she returned. Meanwhile, Ash started releasing the rest of his Pokemon.

After it was all done, a Bulbasaur, Heracross, Muk, Tauros, Cyndaquil, Kingler, Totodile, Noctowl, Phanpy and a Snorlax stood on the field. While Ash, Pikachu and even Brock were joyously reuniting with them, the two Hoenn natives were looking at them in awe, the female member especially, having never seen any of the species before.

"I'm glad to see all of you, guys. Now, I want you all to meet your new teammates from the Hoenn region. Come on out!" Ash said and let out his current team.

In bright flashes of light, Grovyle, Corphish, Swellow, Torkoal and Bagon appeared next to them. They looked at their Trainer before noticing the group of Pokemon close to him on the field. Seeing no immediate threat, they turned to Ash confusedly, though Grovyle and Swellow also appeared wary.

The teen smiled gently "Guys, these are your teammates from the Kanto and Johto region. Come and say hi."

The Hoenn team perked up at that and all too eagerly introduced themselves to Ash's older teams, except for the perpetually calm and collected Grovyle and Swellow, who greeted them more composedly. Their Trainer grinned, watching his Pokemon befriend each other was a magnificent and heart-warming sight. Although, it was funny to see Heracross putting his mouth against a hole in Torkoal's shell, obviously thinking that there was something in it worth sucking. The shy Fire-type startedly released a plume of smoke right into his face, causing the Single Horn Pokemon to cough.

However, he soon noticed Bagon having a little more trouble than the others. He was perplexed by his behaviour for a few moments - Bagon had befriended Pikachu easily enough - before realizing the issue. He had introduced him to _only_ Pikachu the previous night, the Rock Head Pokemon hadn't even met his Hoenn team yet. The large group of Pokemon was probably rather intimidating to the young one.

He went over to him and scooped him up in his arms, the Dragon-type looking up at him uncertainly. The teen just smiled and walked over to the rest of his Pokemon.

"Hey, guys! This is Bagon. He joined our team yesterday and I want you all to make him feel welcome. Okay?"

All of them nodded and gently began introducing themselves to the small dragon. Ash lowered Bagon down to the ground, though the small dragon was still holding on to his arm for comfort. The young Trainer resolved to stay near until Bagon was confident enough to talk to the rest by his lonesome, not that he really minded. He used his unoccupied hand to grab his Pokedex and point it at the Dragon-type.

 **Bagon, the Rock Head Pokemon. Bagon harbors a never-ending dream of one day soaring among the clouds. Although it's small, its body is a bundle of muscles, making it very powerful. This Bagon is male and has the ability Rock Head. He knows the moves Ember, Bite, Headbutt and Leer. It also has egg moves Hydro Pump and Dragon Dance, both of which are unlocked.**

Ash was understandably surprised by the moveset, but figured that any Pokemon previously owned by Drake was powerful, even one as young as Bagon. Putting the Pokedex away, he addressed his Pokemon "Gather round, everyone! I've got something I want to talk to you about!"

The magical creatures dutifully calmed themselves down and gathered in front of him. Their Trainer cleared his throat once before speaking up "The first thing you should know is that Prof. Oak has increased the amount of Pokemon I can carry on my person, which means that some of you from Kanto and Johto will be staying with me after today!"

His Pokemon cheered at the great news, happy that they would be able to join him on his journey.

"Alright, settle down! That's not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about!" After they composed themselves, Ash continued "Now, I want Bayleef, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Phanpy, Grovyle, Corphish and Bagon to step forward."

The mentioned Pokemon were confused, but stepped forward nonetheless. Ash couldn't help but smirk when he saw a look of recognition pass through Noctowl's face. Trust his most observant and perceptive Pokemon to notice the similarities among the Pokemon he had called out.

Now or never. "I haven't thought of asking you this question before because of some previous experiences, but... which of you want to evolve?" he asked.

The Pokemon were stunned, truly never expecting such a question from Ash. The teen was quick to notice Pikachu and Bulbasaur adopt a look of hurt. It wasn't hard to understand why, considering all the times he said that evolution didn't matter to him. Heck, it must've felt like betrayal to them. He was quick to remedy it.

"Like I said, I didn't think of asking you this before due to some experiences of mine, _not_ necessarily bad ones." He looked at the two who had chosen to never evolve with a smile and slightly apologetic expression, trying to express his (hopefully) pure-hearted intentions. "I don't care if you evolve or not, but I do care if you _want to_ evolve. I know it's an important part in a Pokemon's life and that I can't neglect it, so I need you to give me your honest opinion. I won't think less of any of you either way."

Pikachu and Bulbasaur felt relief course through their spines, hearing that Ash still respected their decision on not evolving. The two also realized that their teammates that did want to evolve had just as much right for Ash to respect their's. It further made them feel better.

Bagon and Phanpy were quick to voice their opinion, cheerfully crying out while raising their hands or trunk respectively. Grovyle soon followed, smirking and lifting his own hand. One by one, the others gave a positive response, granting their Trainer his answer.

He then looked at his Pokemon who were already fully evolved "This doesn't mean that you will be neglected. I've already decided that I'll take five of you with me and rotate three weeks from now, which means that you're all going to have a chance of travelling with us again. Three of you will be ones that can evolve while the remaining two will be fully evolved ones. Now," He sat down on the ground "to choose who'll be going with me for the next three weeks."

All of the Pokemon - except for the Hoenn team and Pikachu - had anxious looks on their faces, all wanting to go. Regardless of the fact that they knew he would rotate them, he knew the ones not chosen today would feel hurt, but it was a necessary decision. As he moved his eyes from Pokemon to Pokemon, he caught Bayleef's gaze. Out of all of them, she appeared the most eager, with big, round and adorable eyes that were also slightly moist at the thought of not being chosen.

The raven-haired boy was slightly conflicted due to the fact she had already evolved once, while the other three (Cyndaquil, Totodile and Phanpy) had yet to evolve. But looking at the admittedly adorable Grass-type, he couldn't resist the urge to smile gently and exclaim "Bayleef!"

Seeing her smile widely and cry out in joy erased all his doubts. Besides, he would switch her out for another in less than a month. Thankfully, she managed to hold herself back from tackling him. Looking at the other three, he quickly decided on the next one.

"Phanpy!"

It was a rather easy choice, due to the Long Nose Pokemon being rather young and the probable fact that he saw him as a father, being the first person he saw when he hatched. Now that he thought about it, from that point of view, leaving him for too long might have actually been unhealthy for Phanpy's development, giving Ash a new reason to feel bad for not considering the possibility of carrying more than 6 Pokemon.

He shook his head to clear it of negative thoughts. No point in dwelling anymore when he had learned his lesson. Figuring that Totodile would take the temporary rejection with more good humor, he made his final choice for the ones who had the ability to evolve "Cyndaquil!"

Cyndaquil rejoiced and ran over to him with the other two. After they settled the themselves next to him, Ash gave a quick searching look towards the Pokemon that remained. A few seconds later, he raised his right index finger.

"Noctowl, for noticing why I had called out several of your teammates earlier and... Kingler!" he proclaimed. Kingler was a powerful fighter, but was rarely used, thus he felt he owed it to her. Plus, she would be a big help in training Corphish due to their similar physique.

The owl-like Pokemon released his trill-like sound and flew over to his side, while Kingler eye smiled and clicked her pincers ecstatically before walking over to him. The teen rubbed her head and turned to the remaining Pokemon, all dejected "Don't worry, guys. Like I said, I'll rotate three weeks from now and then again some time after that and so on. You'll all get a chance to accompany me."

Fortunately, it managed to lift their spirits and they all looked happier. He spent the rest of the morning playing with them and introducing his Pokemon to Max and May, the later releasing her own and providing the same courtesy.

After having a shared lunch, the raven-haired teen said his farewells to the team members going back to Oak and began recalling them into their respective pokeballs. He left Bulbasaur for last, but instead of immediately recalling him, he knelt down in front of him.

"Bulbasaur, I hope you understand why I had to ask them if they wanted to evolve. I still respect your decision on the matter, but it wouldn't be fair if I ignored the wishes off my other Pokemon just because their opinion might end up clashing with your own," he said kindly, but with resolve, trying to convey that he stood behind his decision, and that while Bulbasaur's opinion mattered, it wouldn't change anything.

Basically, he was telling his beloved Grass-type to suck it up. Ash didn't feel completely comfortable with that, but it was imperative he get his point across.

His tone turned more serious "You've always been the serious, responsible type and as one of the older team members, I'm trusting you to set an example. I don't want any fighting or long-winding arguments to come out of this between you and some of the others. Understood?"

His firmness on the topic notwithstanding, he was slightly afraid that his words and tone might lead to the formation of a rift between him and his Bulbasaur, perhaps the Pokemon with the strongest abandonment issues in his team. To his relief, the Seed Pokemon nodded determinedly and accepted the responsibility with seriousness of a lieutenant leading his platoon.

"I'll see you again soon, buddy. Make me proud." He smiled gently and patted Bulbasaur's head, who growled happily before being recalled into his pokeball.

Ash then turned towards his starter Pokemon "This goes for you too, Pikachu. Granted, since you'll be with me the whole time I can prevent any arguments myself, not to mention you're already an evolved form." He put his chin between his right index finger and thumb "That said, I need to tell the others the same thing in regards to you and Bulbasaur."

Pikachu nodded in agreement and jumped on his usual perch on Ash's shoulder. The raven-haired Trainer turned to his human companions, only to see them gaping at him in wonder or disbelief. Weird. Not getting why they were gawking at him like that, he just stared back at them confusedly.

"What?" he asked after a few seconds of silent awkwardness.

First to recover, Brock smiled lightly "If I had never seen it and someone had _told_ me that all of this," He gestured towards Ash and the spot where his Pokemon had been gathered "had happened, I would've seriously called horseshit. Talk about 'seeing is believing'."

Ash blushed with a scowl on his face while the three laughed, though May was also trying - and failing - to glare at the young man for using profanity in front of her little brother.

He hadn't been _that_ bad, had he?

* * *

The Mouse Pokemon didn't know what exactly the Dragon Master had said to his Trainer, - frankly, he was still rather annoyed he had been AWOL for it - but it brought out a side of him he could respect, even though he wasn't yet completely sure what to make of it. He _seemed_ more focused and perceptive than before and less prone to recklessly rush into things.

While it was true that the teen might have neglected some things when it came to their training, it wasn't because he didn't care. It was because, outside of battles, Ash could definitely be absent-minded and somewhat scatter-brained, even at the best of times. However, he made up for a good deal of it with his determination and honest care for his Pokemon's well-being.

Pikachu often felt he served as a form of counter-balance for Ash's open, if not excessive, trust and proclivity for reckless danger, even if the Trainer himself didn't go looking for it half the time. The electric mouse knew he could be just as friendly as Ash, but he knew when and where to draw the line.

Hey, he wasn't _always_ the huggy-feely type. Heartfelt reunions after a period of unintended separation were just a common occurrence in their groups and those were usually Ash's fault. And Team Rocket's too, Pikachu surmised.

Back on topic, perhaps, just perhaps, Drake's little talk with him would provide a new, internal counter-balance.

Almost all of his Trainer's faults stemmed from his lack of thinking things through. Morally, the raven-haired teen was practically an angel, but good moral values and determination didn't make up for everything. Pikachu knew Ash had the brains, he just hadn't had the right catalyst to stimulate him into seeing the importance of using it.

"Okay, guys. There'll be no training today. I want all of you to get to know each other better, so you can work with each other better." Ash's declaration brought Pikachu back down to Earth. Dutifully, he hopped down to join the Pokemon that were staying. As the oldest member of the team and only one who knew each and every one of them personally, it was his unspoken job to help them get along and serve as mediator if necessary.

Pikachu felt like sighing. He loved all of his teammates, Ash especially, but between grounding his Trainer, being the de facto leader of the Pokemon team and all the battles he participated in (even if he did enjoy that), it could definitely be exhausting, regardless that it was worth it.

And Drake had just added another variable into the mix, one with as of yet unknown effects.

Eh, the Mouse Pokemon was nothing if not a hard worker, he could handle it.

It didn't change that, in his humble opinion... the Hoenn Dragon Master was a real dick.

* * *

 **How was that? Not much action, I know. Well, no action at all really, but this was an important chapter in showing how Ash grew to become better than his former self. Character development was the priority.**

 **Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long.**

 **See ya!**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's been a while, but I've done it. Chapter three!**

 **I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

Ash stood in front of his Pokemon, the day after he had added five more of them to his Hoenn team. Using his Pokedex, he had already checked all of the moves they knew, as well as the moves they could learn. He was surprised (and somewhat ashamed in himself) by the amount of moves they knew how to do that he hadn't been aware of. That's not even mentioning all the useful moves he could've increased their arsenal with.

As of now, none of them had a fully stocked arsenal yet.

 **This Cyndaquil is male and has the ability Blaze. He knows the moves Flame Wheel, Smokescreen, Flamethrower, Quick Attack, Swift, Double Team, Aerial Ace and Sunny Day. It has the egg move Wild Charge, which is not yet unlocked.**

 **This Phanpy is male and has the ability Sand Veil. He knows the moves Rollout, Defense Curl, Take Down, Earthquake, and Stealth Rock. He has the egg moves Ancient Power and Ice Shard, neither of which are unlocked.**

 **This Bayleef is female and has the ability Overgrow. She knows the moves Razor Leaf, Vine Whip, Poison Powder, Body Slam, Synthesis, Giga Drain, Fury Cutter, Sweet Scent and Headbutt.**

 **This Noctowl is male and has the ability Insomnia. He knows the moves Confusion, Hypnosis, Air Slash, Dream Eater, Reflect, Ominous Wind, Extrasensory, and Psycho Shift. He has the egg moves Sky Attack and Feint Attack, of which only the latter has been unlocked.**

 **This Kingler is female and has the ability Hyper Cutter. She knows the moves Crabhammer, Hyper Beam, Bubble Beam, Harden, Vice Grip, Mud Shot, Water Gun, Hone Claws, and Icy Wind. She has the egg moves Haze and Ice Beam, of which only the former has been unlocked.**

 **This Grovyle is male and has the ability Overgrow. He knows the moves Quick Attack, Bullet Seed, Pound, Leaf Blade, Agility and Detect. He has the egg moves Leech Seed and Crunch, neither of which is unlocked.**

 **This Swellow is male and has the ability Guts. He knows the moves Quick Attack, Aerial Ace, Double Team, Peck, Wing Attack, Agility and Pursuit.**

 **This Torkoal is female and has the ability White Smoke. She knows the moves Flamethrower, Body Slam, Iron Defense, Overheat, Heat Wave, Smokescreen and Protect. She has the egg move Eruption, which is not yet unlocked.**

 **This Corphish is male and has the ability Hyper Cutter. He knows the moves Harden, Crabhammer, Bubble Beam, Night Slash, Vice Grip and Swords Dance. He has the egg moves Brick Break and Aqua Jet, which are both unlocked.**

 **This Pikachu is male and has the ability Static. He knows the moves Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Iron Tail, Thunder Wave, Agility, Thunder, Disarming Voice, Double Team and Charge Beam. He has the egg move Volt Tackle, which is not yet unlocked.**

After some more browsing, he learned that an egg move was instinctual knowledge of how to perform a certain move, passed down from parent to offspring. Though the physical capability to perform it had to be gained through training, experience and growing. Very convenient. Ash certainly thought so. To discard a move was to erase the instinctual knowledge of a move from their mind. Of course, total expunction was impossible. Some residue always lingered behind, making it easy for Pokemon to re-learn moves they had once known.

However, the former was much more interesting right now.

"Okay, guys! Listen up! We're gonna start with, um, move tutoring. Most of you are gonna focus on your egg moves, while a few others will begin learning moves I handpicked for you myself. After that, a couple hours before lunch, we'll have spars. Using them, I'm gonna see how good you are with moves you already know and to help you gain some experience. After lunch and a short rest, you'll be doing physical and power exercises... maybe some move tutoring again too."

Seeing this was his first time creating such a through training regimen, the raven-haired teen didn't chastise himself too much for the uncertainty that had laced his tone. He wasn't even certain if it would yield any effective results. It was more Gary's shtick really, but that wasn't truly a fair comparison. Had his former rival caught fewer Pokemon and not divided his time between training and research, he would have trounced him at the Silver Conference.

It was a sobering thought to say the least.

"Phanpy, I think it's best you start by learning Sandstorm. Since you have Sand Veil, you'll be twice as hard to hit." Plus, being as young as he was, Ash thought it would be good for him to evade incoming attacks as much as possible.

"Bayleef, you're gonna learn Rock Smash. It'll come in handy when fighting Ice and Steel-types, whom you are weak against." He had had a hard time deciding between it and a long range move, since most of Bayleef's attacks were close range and her body wasn't best suited for close range combat. Ultimately, decreasing type disadvantages took priority.

"You, Kingler, will be learning Ice Beam. Knowing Icy Wind and Haze, it shouldn't take long. Noctowl, you're gonna learn Sky Attack." Furthermore, all the speed exercising that she would have to do to learn it would go a long way to help with her flying capabilities.

"Grovyle, I'll try and teach you both Leech Seed and Crunch. Frankly, buddy, you need the versatility," Ash said bluntly and somewhat awkwardly. Leech Seed wouldn't be too hard to master and Crunch was a simple enough move too.

"Torkoal, your attacking moves are pretty much only Fire-types, so I want you to learn Solar Beam and Sunny Day. Cyndaquil will give you some tips with the latter." Although Eruption was the most powerful Fire-type move, he didn't want his physically slowest Pokemon to have such a glaring weakness. Sunny Day would allow her to power up Solar Beam instantly _and_ would weaken the Water-type moves of his opponents, reducing that weakness.

"Corphish, you'll be with Kingler, practicing how to do Ice Beam. Swellow, you are going to learn Steel Wing. Like Grovyle, you too need the versatility," the Trainer said before turning to the remaining three "Pikachu, you'll start unlocking Volt Tackle _and_ helping Cyndaquil unlock Wild Charge. The moves are really similar and you know a lot more about Electric-type attacks than he does."

According to the Pokedex, at base power, Volt Tackle was the strongest Electric-type attack, along with Thunder. More than that, it was the signature move of Pikachu's evolutionary line. It consisted of a massive electrical discharge coupled with high-speed movement, plus recoil damage. Basically, an electric Double Edge.

And Wild Charge... well, if Volt Tackle was the electric Double Edge, then Wild Charge was the electric Take Down. Similar enough in execution, though less speed and power. Although that meant less recoil as well. Ash figured that, with Pikachu helping him, it wouldn't take the Fire Mouse Pokemon overtly long to learn it.

"Bagon, I think you know enough moves for now, so power training will start earlier for you. Practice and try to increase the strength of your attacks for now," the dark-haired teen said to his newest team member. The dragon was young and his moveset was impressive enough already. Hell, he could do more moves than Phanpy, who was over half a year older than him, though that could be considered Ash's fault. Regardless, he didn't want to put more pressure on the young Pokemon.

The Pokemon voiced their agreement and spread throughout the field to begin their designated tasks, their Trainer walking around and giving them tips and encouragement. The rest of the travelling gang was sitting around Brock's portable table, their own Pokemon out and about, enjoying their breakfast. The humans had stilled in their eating, which Ash and his Pokemon had already done in a hurry, to watch the proceeding.

It was worth their still grumbling tummies.

"Wow," Max breathed out in astonishment "Ash really has his game on today. I expected him to be all clumsy and awkward. Well, more than he already is. He just never really seemed like the organized and methodical type, you know."

May coughed and used a napkin to wipe around her mouth "Yeah. He's no Cicero yet, but he's adjusting better than I thought." She shrugged "He's always been really adaptable in battle. Maybe some of it applies to outside of battles too."

Brock chuckled "He's growing up. It's a stage in everybody's life; not special, but important. I should know." He remembered when his father had left, his mother not long after and the responsibility of taking care of his nine siblings had fallen to him. It'd been hard and unpleasant, but he had adjusted and with time, had refused to keep moping about his situation. It had only begotten more misery "Ash is going through a transition of his own right now and the best we can do is support him."

"Uhh, Brock, one of the reasons Drake had decided to give him that lecture of his was because _we_ were too _nice._ Wouldn't the same support we've given him so far be counterproductive?" May asked rather shyly, not wanting to seem offensive.

Brock hummed in agreement "You're right, but the best support is sometimes given through hard facts, rather than sympathetic half-truths. Things aren't so black and white for him anymore and we can show our support without treating him like a wide-eyed kid."

"It's not exactly easy to be hard on your friends." The eight-year old boy shifted uncomfortably.

True, but growing up was about realizing that to look at things from a child's point of view and an adult's was not the same. It was understanding that you had more responsibilities than you initially believed, that your actions have greater consequences than your naive little mind had thought at first and that you were not void of the many austere truths of the world. The eighteen year-old knew that it wasn't nice to experience that sort of shift, but neither could you remain a kid forever.

The two needed to understand that their raven-haired friend was beginning to come to that conclusion himself.

He gave the siblings a serious look "It'd be unfair if we didn't _because_ we're his friends, and it'd be especially _insulting_ if we didn't do it for some dumb sake of him retaining a childish innocence that won't do him any good," he told them sternly. "Besides, you can still be kind and compassionate as usual. Just know when and where to draw the line."

The brother and sister looked at each other shortly before turning to the brunet and nodding "I guess you're right," Max replied.

"Of course I am. It's an adult's job to set an example of what to be to the younger generations," he said seriously, but with an underlying humorous tone. He continued after a few seconds "Or in some cases, like Team Rocket, of what _not_ to be."

The three shared a laugh, despite the fact that the younger two knew Brock had meant what he had said. Although, given his constant shameless flirting with every pretty woman he encountered, the two wondered if he too was an adult's example of what not do. It was embarrassing to say the least... so yeah, probably. They continued to stew on it as they began eating again, the sound of Pokemon moves and Ash's stimulating commands filling the air.

* * *

The young teen watched as his two crustacean Pokemon traded blows using Crabahammer, the larger Kingler yelling at the smaller Corphish, probably tips and suggestions on how to better use his attacks, since he just nodded in unusual cooperativeness before nimbly jumping back. His right pincer glowed light purple, signifying the use of Night Slash, and he leaped forward with the glowing appendage poised back to strike.

Out of all his Pokemon, Ash believed Corphish was the closest to evolving, on account of him knowing the Dark-type move, Crawadaunt itself being a dual Water/Dark-type. Granted, he was by no means an expert on Pokemon Biology so he didn't truly know if that was actually a sign of him being near evolution, but there was also the fact that he could use both his egg moves, which was evidence enough of his development and skill. He was confident though that he would evolve before his current sparring partner was sent back to Prof. Oak's lab.

Kingler countered by swinging her massive pincer from right to left, still using Crabhammer, to parry the attack. Corphish was thoroughly surprised by the maneuver, if his dumbfounded expression was any indication. She then skillfully swung it back, knocking him back and firing a Water Gun at him while he was still in the air, causing Corphish to be knocked further back with a cry of pain.

The male crustacean shook his head and recovered quickly enough, not particularly damaged by the two Water-type attacks. Ash stood up from his sitting position and clapped his hands to get their attention "Alright, guys! That's enough for now!"

The two nodded and walked over to him, standing next to the rest of their Pokemon companions, all more-or-less exhausted and slightly injured "All of you did great and you've all made some progress. It's lunchtime now and a short rest after that, so make the best of it. We're not done yet today."

Some of them slumped in relief, while others, like the dutiful Pikachu and the proud Grovyle, just nodded and began walking towards the brunet, lunch ready and served. After eating, Ash gave them a 45 minute break. That was enough since Pokemon healed much faster than humans.

Cool fact; their recovery rate was increased even more if there were dispensable calories in their bodies, that is to say, they healed even faster on full stomachs.

When the break was done, he set up exercises for each of them. He set up Torkoal to use Flamethrower on Cyndaquil, which the Fire Mouse had to dodge using Flame Wheel. Torkoal was physically slow, but that didn't mean she couldn't be fast with her long-range moves, which most of her offensive repertoire was made of.

Considering he probably didn't have it when he left for Hoenn, it wasn't an unfounded conclusion that Flame Wheel was a recently learned move for the Fire Mouse Pokemon. This way, he could practice both its speed and maneuverability. If Flamethrower did hit, he wouldn't be too damaged since it wasn't very effective and due to the protective layer of fire that Flame Wheel granted him.

Bayleef was to use Razor Leaf on the flying Noctowl for similar purposes. It was more than just aim and speed, it was about predicting your opponent's movement. He wanted to see how good Bayleef was at that. Noctowl would have to put a lot of effort into dodging, with the Leaf Pokemon already having significant experience in using Razor Leaf; it would go a long way in augmenting his flying capabilities.

Fortunately, there were several trees with very thick trunks spread around the edges of the field. He took advantage of them by ordering Pikachu to use Iron Tail against one of them, while Corphish used Crabhammer and Brick Break against another and Bagon used Hydro Pump and Headbutt. The powerful Water-type move wasn't yet perfected, but the dragon had enough proficiency with it for the Pokedex to recognize it as an unlocked egg move.

Meanwhile, Kingler fired Water Guns and Mud Shots at Grovyle, who was using Quick Attack and had to either dodge the former or use Leaf Blade to cut the latter. Every once in a while, Grovyle would use Bullet Seed and she'd have to defend using Icy Wind to either slow them down or stop the attack completely.

Finally, Phanpy was to use Rollout to chase Swellow, who would use Aerial Ace attacks at random to try and strike him. It was the young Pokemon's job to dodge them while maintaining his own move or, if he _did_ get struck, to try maintain Rollout anyway and recover as fast as possible.

He really hoped his first try at creating a productive training regimen wasn't a _complete_ failure.

* * *

It seemed he needn't have worried.

In the end, all his Pokemon had made progress; Bagon, Corphish and Pikachu's physical attacks had left small dents on the durable trunks, Cyndaquil and Phanpy had steadily gotten better at using their respective rotating moves, Torkoal, Bayleef and Kingler were better and faster at aiming with their long-range moves, Noctowl and Grovyle's reflexes and dodging skills had slowly improved and the owl and Swellow had boosted their aerial mobility.

In the move tutoring department, Pikachu had made both the most and the least headway. The most because Pikachu had already shown a slight mastery of Volt Tackle. The least because he technically _did_ show least progress, since it was already fairly close to being perfected, though not on the same level as Bagon's Hydro Pump.

Had he not decided to instruct his starter to focus more on helping Cyndaquil, he would've likely perfected it earlier this morning. As it was, he would undoubtedly finish learning Volt Tackle tomorrow.

On that note, Cyndaquil had made little breakthrough with Wild Charge, despite both his and Pikachu's assistance. They tried to teach him the move by instructing him to use Quick Attack while gathering Electric-type energy within his body.

So far, the result was always no visible electricity appearing around his body during movement. Only when he stopped did the two notice a few sparks flickering around his body, but nothing substantial. Ash couldn't have helped but feel a bit helpless when the little Pokemon's spirits visibly dampened. Thankfully, his later success with Flame Wheel helped reignite his inner flame.

Regardless, they would figure it out. The rest also made advancements, some more than others, but they were all on the road to mastering their assigned moves. He had to remember to put some distance between Phanpy and the others while he was still learning Sandstorm. He didn't want another incident like Noctowl nearly crashing again due to a particularly strong gust of sand-filled wind.

Overall, a satisfying first day for the new and improved Ash Ketchum, if he did say so himself.

"What do you think, guys?" the dark-haired Trainer asked his human friends, seated around the table and eating an early dinner.

"I think you did great, but, um, well... let's just say some of the inexperience shone through the cracks," May commented, looking at Brock for confirmation, who nodded.

Ash smirked a bit, having noticed it. Ultimately, they all often relied on Brock's opinion and input. Speaking of input "And you, Brock?" Ash inquired.

"I agree with May. Rough around the edges, but pretty good for your first time. You also need to make the training sessions a little shorter, we won't do much travelling otherwise," the aspiring Pokemon Breeder supplied earnestly. Ash's answer was to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"I think it was awesome!" Max near-shouted suddenly, loud enough to startle a few of their Pokemon. The older members of their gang just chuckled.

"Thanks, shrimp, but you don't have to be afraid to criticize me," the Trainer said. Brock silently agreed, but decided to indulge the eight year-old boy. From his perspective, it probably had been 'awesome'.

Said 'shrimp' pouted and narrowed his eyes, probably because of the height remark Ash thought "Don't worry, I'm not. I just thought all your stumbling around was so obvious, I didn't need to comment on it," Max retorted in childish, but biting sarcasm.

Brock, May and Pikachu snickered at the raven-haired teen's gaping expression, while Max grinned triumphantly. It seemed that Brock needn't have worried either.

* * *

Ash and the group gazed eagerly at the approaching landmass, the beautiful sunset in the background giving it a physical attractiveness that only added to the collective excitement they felt. Izabe Island it was called and the location of May's next contest performance, where she would compete for the fourth of the five ribbons necessary to participate in the Grand Festival. Purika City is where the contest would be held, hosted inside one of the largest contest hall's in the Hoenn Region.

However, as of recently, that was not the only reason they were headed there. In the port town they had disembarked from earlier that day, there were posters that depicted a flamboyantly dressed man all over the place, stating that a tournament was being held in Purika City two days after the contest.

They had found out from the resident Nurse Joy that it was meant to attract more people and publicity to this part of the region, having experienced a decline in tourism for the last few years. She also told them that the man on the posters, also the host of the tournament, was Wallace, one of the most famous Pokemon Coordinators in the world and a well-known Trainer to boot. Plus, there was an as-of-yet-unknown prize for the ones who win 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

With the prospect of a new challenge and the possibility of winning a unique prize - with a host as famous and extravagant as Wallace, how could the prize be anything but? - Ash was about as excited as May herself to reach Izabe Island.

It had been a week since he had begun with the advanced training and it was going better than expected. Per Brock's suggestion, he had shortened the sessions to give them more time to travel. It did little to affect his Pokemon's growth rate.

Apart from increased physical skills and stronger moves, many of them managed to learn their assigned moves. Phanpy learned Sandstorm easily enough, unsurprising considering the fact he already knew two Rock-type moves and had an ability attuned to that specific move. As predicted, Pikachu learned Volt Tackle on his second day, Grovyle mastered Leech Seed and was nearly done with Crunch.

Noctowl learned Sky Attack just yesterday, though his fellow flier hadn't yet learnt Steel Wing. Torkoal was quick to grasp the mechanics of Sunny Day, but was having some trouble with Solar Beam.

Kingler had more success than Corphish when it came to using Ice Beam, being pretty much finished with it, while the male on the other hand was still having problems releasing a steady beam of Ice-type energy, probably since he was more used to close-range physical attacks. The most he could do was form a light blue orb within his pincer and release a weak stream of icy energy that dissipates after crossing four feet.

While having had more fruitful results than her crustacean teammate, Bayleef wasn't yet done with Rock Smash either. However, the leaf on her head still glowed a light reddish-white when in use and a direct blow could leave cracks on stone and chip some of the bark off of tree trunks, denting them somewhat.

Bagon, who was excused from move tutoring, had gotten a better grasp on some of his techniques, most notably Hydro Pump. Although still a bit taxing for his young body, Ash was proud to say he fully learnt the mighty water attack. As a reward, he promised to teach the young dragon how to do Flamethrower.

Thankfully, since Fire-type moves came more naturally to his species than Water-type moves and the fact that it took less effort to release a stream of flames than a pressurized jet of water (gas was lighter than liquid after all), Flamethrower was more or less ideal for Bagon to learn.

However, amidst all of that, Cyndaquil was still having a lot of trouble with Wild Charge. Though slightly better than on his first day, the most he accomplished was make the electrical sparks barely visible while running. It was starting to affect both his and his Trainer's confidence. Ultimately, he had no choice but to make a deal with his Pokemon; if no noteworthy progress was made in the next week, he would pick another move for him to learn.

The raven-haired Trainer really hoped it didn't come to that. Wild Charge seemed like such an awesome move.

"Bulbasaur, use Razor Leaf and follow it up with Vine Whip!"

He was brought out of his musings by the feminine voice. He smiled as he saw May's Bulbasaur fire a host of sharp, spinning leaves, after which she skillfully used Vine Whip to stop them all in mid-air. He almost clapped, reminding himself to not distract her during training. He wouldn't particularly like that either.

Ever since his talk with Drake and the first day of the improved training program he set up for his Pokemon a week ago, May stepped up her game as well. She and her Pokemon trained harder than ever and she could was often lost in thought, planning strategies in her head. She even bought a notebook to take notes and write down her ideas. Just as improvement was visible among his Pokemon, the same could be said for hers.

That talk Drake had with him might have truly been the best thing to have happened for both of them, despite the fact that the thirteen year-old Coordinator still thought it presumptuous of the high-ranking Trainer. However, that was only because she was nice like that, always believing it was easy to flout or mock. Though her attempts at kindness and courtesy were misplaced at times, Ash liked that about her.

"They've improved," he commented idly but sincerely.

"Practice does that. I think she's ready to win, don't you?" Brock said.

Ash nodded "Maybe, we still don't know her competition though. Technically she's still a rookie and who knows who might be competing?"

The brunet raised an eyebrow as he looked at his best friend strangely, not expecting that answer "Do you doubt her?"

"No, absolutely not! I'm trying to be realistic. Just because I hope she doesn't go up against a Coordinator equivalent of a no-holds-barred Gym Leader, doesn't mean it won't happen," he responded more sharply than intended, rather offended by Brock's question.

Brock just nodded calmly "I suppose that's true, but skill sometimes triumphs over experience. A Pokemon with a thousand moves could be defeated by a Pokemon who could cleverly use one."

Ash looked at him searchingly for a moment before turning towards May, who was petting her Bulbasaur's head. He realized the Pewter City native was right. She already won three ribbons and if she played her cards right, there was nothing stopping her from winning the fourth. He grinned "Well, here's hoping she's got an ass kicking strategy in that notebook of hers. She's gonna need one anyway."

The man grinned back "Agreed. That said, you can always give her a few tips."

"Maybe when she was _just_ starting out, Brock, but contests are now her expertise. I don't think I can contribute much, a little basic advice at most," Ash responded in a matter-of-fact manner.

"You of all people should know that 'a little'," Brock made quotation marks with his fingers "can mean the difference between victory and defeat. Ash, Battle Trainers and Coordinators have more in common than people think, like planning training regimens and strategies. You have three years of valuable experience over her, experience that is only valuable if it's used," he insisted.

The teen was suddenly reminded of Drake, of how he pretty much said the same thing. He had held himself back by refusing to learn from all the various experiences he had amassed. Perhaps unwittingly, but that was the fault of his own stupidity and immaturity. Brock was, again and as usual, right. Determined, he started walking towards the girl and her Pokemon.

She looked up when she spotted him and smiled. He gave a small smile back and stopped right in front of her "You ready for tomorrow, May?"

May nodded happily "I sure am and so is Bulbasaur. Right?"

The Seed Pokemon growled in affirmative.

"Good to hear. Just remember to be confident, stay focused and give it your all."

She raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly, amused "What's with the onslaught of sagely advice, _master_ Ash?"

"Just doin' something I wish someone had done for me earlier on my journey." He chuckled, but with a touch of melancholy, as if wishing some things had been different.

Electing to ignore it, she thought it through. Seeing no harm in it, she shrugged "Sure, why not? So what do you think I should do?"

"Everything I didn't," Ash deadpanned "Pay attention and _stay focused._ It's very possible you'll fight against Coordinators with more experience and training than you. That doesn't mean you can't win, but you _definitely_ won't if your emotions run wild and you allow them to cloud your judgement. Be calm and be confident... and hope you have some good strategies in your fancy notebook."

The brunette couldn't help but laugh at the last one. Nevertheless, she knew Ash had just given her very sound advice and she nodded to him gratefully "Thanks. By the way, where's Max?"

"Last I saw him, he was at the front of the ship." He pointed towards the bow with his thumb.

May sighed "I hope he's not trying to act like Leonardo Di Caprio in Titanic. If he falls over, God knows I'll spank his ass like mom used to."

Ash laughed jovially in response.

* * *

Fortunately, May had done marvelously, even getting to the finals, where she was whopping the butt of that _fucking_ lowlife, Harley.

That fruity lunatic actually had the audacity and shamelessness to publicly embarrass his friend in front of the entire audience. Apparently, he had tricked Max into telling him of an embarrassing event that had happened to May, had surreptitiously recorded it and then played it on the stadium-wide channel, all in order to win by having May lose her focus in the middle of their battle.

Don't get him wrong, there would be some teasing about that event later, but only when in private and with good humor. But this guy? Frankly, he was taking some guilty pleasure from watching the brunette's Bulbasaur decimate his Cacturne (guilty only because his Pokemon had to suffer for his deceitful ways).

At first, May _had_ lost control of her temper, but it was thankfully short-lived. After less than twenty seconds, just when he was about to shout at her to keep calm, she snapped out of it herself. She had taken a deep breath and began commanding her Pokemon much more composedly, which led to the current situation. Ash had to wince a bit when he saw the Cacturne getting hit by a beautiful and equally painful Razor Leaf/Petal Dance combo.

It hit the ground and didn't get back up.

Harley's face was contorted into a theatrically horrified expression, as if he had just shit himself. _Drama queen,_ Ash scoffed silently. He clapped and cheered with the rest of the audience as his Coordinator friend was handed the ribbon, making her only one step away from being able to participate in the Grand Festival.

From the corner of his eye he noticed her little brother looking down forlornly, no doubt feeling the shame from being bamboozled by Harley. The dark-haired Trainer had mixed feelings towards it all and was thus undecided.

On one hand, he should have known better than to talk about such sensitive and personal topics to a stranger, especially when not having had his sister's permission. On the other, he was young and Harley seemed like an old hand at the whole lying game. Not to mention, considering the amount of times he had been tricked by the likes of Team Rocket, he wasn't really in any position to throw stones.

Ultimately, May was his older sister and it was up to her to choose whether to scold him, reassure him, etc.

A few minutes later, they stood outside, the Sun setting on the horizon. Everybody was quiet as a not-so awkward silence hung over them. Max was refusing to meet May's eyes in his shame, who was looking at him with a stern expression, but Ash could also see a hint of sympathy. Like him, she probably had mixed feelings on how to handle this as well.

Eventually, Max spoke out "I'm sorry for telling Harley about... you know," he said so meekly, they almost didn't hear him.

"You should be. What were you thinking? Telling a total stranger something so _embarrassing_ about me. Mom and Dad taught you better than that." May didn't yell, but it somehow felt like it.

"It's just that h-he was really nice to me and he looked so nervous, I-I couldn't help it," he frantically replied, finally looking up at her.

"So? That's not an excuse, Max. You don't blab to just anyone about personal things that are none of their business, things that can be used against us."

Ash decided to put his two cents in "Nice doesn't mean good, Max. Trust me, I know. Courtesy is often a cover up for bad intentions." Boy, did he know.

Tears started forming at the corners of the boy's eyes before he started sobbing. May's countenance softened and she knelt down, pulling Max into a hug. He gripped her around the neck like a lifeline as his sobbing intensified slightly. The two older males and Pikachu simply watched with varying expressions, not knowing what to do to help.

She shushed him "It's okay, Max, it's okay. I just want you to understand what you did wrong and learn from this."

He nodded against her shoulder, sniffling "I-I'm sorry for embarrassing you in, *sniff*, front of all those people."

"I'm not angry at you for that." He looked confusedly at her when he pulled away a little "I'm angry at Harley for _that._ I am - was - angry at you for telling him about why I was scared of Pokemon. I was angry at you for so readily trusting someone you didn't know at all." She wiped away his tears "Now I hope you'll know better than to trust a stranger like that again. Okay?"

He nodded rapidly.

May then sighed "Besides, I shouldn't be criticizing too much. I believed his lie about Surskit being a very slow Pokemon."

"Is that why the start of your battle with Kent had been so... sloppy?" Brock perked up.

"Yeah. You know what he told me?" They shook their heads "He told me it was my own fault, that I should have studied up on my opponent instead of relying on second-hand information. And he was right. As much as he was in the wrong for lying in the first place, I readily believed the lie of a guy I barely even knew and it almost cost me the entire contest."

Ash didn't know what to say. He wanted to support her and comfort her by saying that Harley was wrong and a dickhead, but Harley wasn't wrong, at least not completely. As deceitful as he was, he also seemed to possess an admirable prudence and preparedness, gathering as much information on his potential opponents before facing them.

Neither was he completely wrong about May sharing part of the blame. She shouldn't have outright believed him, but she did. She had been naive in her kindness and sympathy and things could have ended up worse.

She was like he had been, only smarter.

He would have done the same not that long ago, but ever since Drake's 'lecture', he had begun seeing things differently. Though the man had only intended to change his approach to Pokemon training and battling, he had caused the teen to reflect on his approach to situations and life in general, not only on his skills as a Pokemon Trainer.

Drake had made him aware of his own naivete and simple-mindedness and he couldn't help _but_ to expand his introspection and questioning beyond the borders of the Elite Four member's intention. However, a part of him wondered if this had been his aim all along.

After all, to grow as a Trainer, you needed to grow as a person first. He could imagine the man being one of the types to say something like that.

With that in mind, he had his answer.

The raven-haired teen promptly covered Max's ears with his hands and said "Harley is a dickhead."

May and Brock chortled, while the boy pouted at being left out.

"That he is," the young man agreed. "Let's get back to the Pokemon Center. There is still the tournament the day after tomorrow, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start strategizing for it."

"Yeah and they have a cafeteria in the Center too. I'm really hungry," the girl practically whined.

Ash could agree with both sentiments. He had only found out about the tournament yesterday morning, so he hadn't had much time to plan and the last time he had eaten was over six hours ago (which was a lot for him). He nodded to show his consent and they started walking towards the medical facility.

* * *

 **I know that I've been putting some emphasis on how 'stupid' Ash was before Drake spoke to him, but I'm a realistic, logical person. From the view of such a person, he was naive and simple-minded, which was made worse due to the fact that he _has_ experience under his belt.**

 **In the real world, good morals are good to have, but they alone won't get you far without a strong mind to back it up. The Pokemon world, of course, isn't real, but I try my best to make it as realistic as possible in my stories.**

 **Story recommendations:**

 **From Kalos With Love by ArreClonClipo**

 **On The Road, Far From Home (Pokemon and Frozen crossover) by OrangeGalen**

 **A Guide To Writing Pokemon Fanfiction by iggychan89**

 **Road to a Master by Fee-fi-fo-fum**

 **Til next time!**


End file.
